Coalition call for Manchester Council to introduce living wage

A coalition of community leaders, and young people supported by Local
Councillors and Sir Gerald Kaufman MP have come together to call on
Manchester City Council to implement the Living Wage.

The campaign for The Living Wage 4 Manchester was launched in Longsight on
Sunday 28 April 2013 was attended by people who believe that the
introduction of the Living Wage in Manchester will not only benefit local
people but will also boost the city’s economy.

Campaigners have written to the Leader of Manchester City Council asking
for the lowest paid members of staff to be paid at least £7.45 an hour and
for the Council to do all it can to encourage other employers in the City
to do the same.

Manchester City Council currently pay a Manchester minimum wage which is
30p an hour less than The Living Wage, which is set by Centre for Research
in Social Policy and is calculated to cover the basic cost of living in the
UK.

Rick McDonald from Manchester Youth Academy said ” Making sure people in
Manchester are paid fairly is really important to us as we know its really
hard for our families who working hard but are still struggling to afford
to pay all the bills. We are really pleased that our local Councillor
Luthfur Rahman and Sir Gerald Kaufman MP have helped support our Living
Wage 4 Manchester campaign. ”

Alan Grafton MBE said ” This campaign brings together young people,
community leaders and elected politicians asking for Manchester City
Council to take the lead in bringing in the Living Wage. Manchester is a
fantastic city and I hope that by bringing in the Living Wage less people
across the city will be having to struggle to make ends meet”

Longsight Councillor Luthfur Rahman who is leading the call said “I am
delighted to be able to support this campaign. Manchester has one of the
highest levels of child poverty in the country and we should be doing
everything we can to support low paid families. By introducing the Living
Wage Manchester City Council will not only be helping to bring families out
of poverty but also sending a clear message that in these tough times the
Council is on their side”

Councillor Rosa Battle who also signed the letter added “I fully support
the campaign to bring the Living Wage to Manchester. By introducing the
Living Wage Manchester City Council will hopefully encourage other
employers in the city to do the same which will be a practical way to
tackle the unacceptable levels of child poverty in Manchester”

Sir Gerald Kaufman MP for Gorton said ” The Living Wage has cross party
support and is advocated by the Leader of the Labour Party Ed Milliband.
Many Local Authorities including Newcastle and Birmingham have committed to
paying the Living Wage and its about time Manchester followed suite.”

The campaign ‘Living Wage 4 Manchester’ is planning a series of events across
the City to try and get employers to sign up to pay the Living Wage as well
as raising awareness about the importance of paying a fair wage.